Grim Fandango (1998): Somehow this is everyone's favorite PC game, even though it was considered a commercial failure. The adventure game, featuring Day of the Dead figures and a noir plot, was an early example of the genius of Tim Schafer, who went on to found Double Fine Productions in San Francisco. (Peter Hartlaub)

Lego: Star Wars: The Video Game (2005): LucasArts' first collaboration with developer Traveller's Tales was a charming effort with solid game play. I remember picking up a review copy with the assumption that it would be a cheap attempt to cross-market. The cheeky humor in the cut scenes quickly won me over. (P.H.)

Monkey Island series (1990-2000): The four games in this delightfully hilarious series, following the mishaps of would-be pirate Guybrush Threepwood, bookmarked the beginning and end of LucasArts' golden age. The success of the early "Monkey Island" games became a template and benchmark for future LucasArts adventure games - "Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis," "Day of the Tentacle," "Sam & Max Hit the Road" and "Full Throttle." Four years ago, LucasArts passed the "Monkey Island" torch to Telltale Games, reigniting the love for the genre. Unfortunately, the series' future is rainy under Disney's umbrella. (Christopher T. Fong)

Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe (1991): The last in the World War II trilogy by LucasArts predecessor LucasFilm Games was a hit for "Star Wars: X-Wing" designer Lawrence Holland. A great combination of simulation and entertainment, the game had a White Pages-size instruction manual and the then-novel ability to play as the bad guy Germans. (P.H.)

Star Wars: Dark Forces (1995): The 1990s were dominated by first-person shooters. LucasArts one-upped the "Doom-clones" by adding advanced game play features that we now find ubiquitous: jumping and ducking, looking up and down, and smart and active environmental elements. The fun, challenging "Dark Forces" set the bar for everything that followed, along with the type of games LucasArts had to produce. (C.T.F.)

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003): Other games around the time were more hyped, but this LucasArts role-playing collaboration with developer BioWare was the instant classic. Dark and detached from the current universe, it was a "Star Wars" prequel adult fans could embrace. (P.H.)

Star Wars: TIE Fighter (1994): Many joyful nights were spent playing "TIE Fighter." But I worried about breaking my Gravis Joystick during evasive maneuvers. The superb follow-up to "X-Wing" gave us an improved space flight simulator, with its upgraded graphics engine, adding realistic 3-D depth and curves. Finally, the game's version of the Star Destroyer looks as imposing in the opening of "A New Hope." (C.T.F.)

Zombies Ate My Neighbors (1993): With B-movie camp, "Zombies" has you scrambling to rescue your neighbors from classic horror-flick monsters. Though it didn't win any beauty contests or redefine the world of gaming, this game had a self-reflective humor that was (and still is) refreshing. (Shannon May)

Worth mentioning: For fans and future game designers, I recommend reading "Rogue Leaders: The Story of LucasArts," a collection of stories and conceptual artwork, revealing their creative process. (C.T.F.)